PRR - Cut Dead by Mark Sennen

Cut Dead by Mark Sennen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - sadly due to a busy schedule I dipped in and out over 6 days

Publisher - Avon

Pages - 406

Blurb From Goodreads

DI Charlotte Savage is back, chasing a killer who was last at large ten years ago, a killer they presumed dead …
Now he’s back and more dangerous than ever.

When three headless bodies are found mutilated in a pit, it’s a particularly challenging case for DI Savage and her team. The victims bear the hallmarks of a killer who butchered girls to their death; a killer who was never caught.

Could this be a copycat or has the original murderer resurfaced? With a steady stream of bodies arriving at the morgue and gruesome secrets from the past emerging DI Savage is up against it to find the killer before he strikes again?

Part thriller, part police procedural, a must-read for fans of Mark Billingham and Tim Weaver.



My Review

The story opens up with a prologue, in the past and giving us the starting point for our killer. We then flip to present day and DI Charlotte Savage is soon called to a gruesome burial site. Headless corpses and suggestion of a serial killer who operates on a specific timescale, can the police work out the significance of that and the message he leaves behind? The killer has struck before and it seems like he has resurfaced, Savage must work with her team to unravel the clues before the killer strikes again.

I read the book before this one but not the first in the series, I have to say I felt with this book the writer has came on leaps and bounds. The story flips between the investigation, police findings and the professional relationship between Savage and Riley. As well as this case Riley is looking into a potential lead from an old case that has special significance for Savage. Add into the mix a prison officer has gone missing and foul play is suspected.

It is a busy story with lots of twists and sidelines going on, the killer also has a voice every so often, written in italics so there is not confusion it is him. This gives small glimpses of what is going on with him and potentially driving him although in small parts which some readers may find irritating although I personally thought it was well done.

The murders are brutal, sadistic and there is details within the story that gore lovers will find riveting and put off others who like their crime to be totally procedural and less graphic. All in all I felt it kept you interested, went at a really good pace and by the end most of your questions were answered. A few were left unanswered and for some I think there will be closure within the next book but not all of them. For me it is a 4/5 and I will definitely follow the next installment to see if Savage will finally get some closure. Thanks to the publicist for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is available to purchase now from all good retailers and you can find the author on Twitter @MarkSennen.

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ARC - Bad Blood by Mark Sennen

Bad Blood by Mark Sennen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 5 days

Publisher - Avon

Blurb from Goodreads

‘We’re going to find them, sort them, pay them back …’

When the body of a six-year-old girl is found buried beneath a patio, nobody is surprised when a local paedophile is murdered shortly afterwards. But when a member of DI Charlotte Savage’s team is abducted and several men are executed in cold blood it becomes apparent that there’s a psychopath on the loose with no mercy for his victims…

It becomes clear that the killer isn’t selecting his victims at random and soon Savage is in a race against time to stop him. But what if this man has a message for Charlotte herself? One she won’t forget in a hurry. It’s payback time. Deadly payback time.

Part thriller, part police procedural, a must-read for fans of Mark Billingham and Chris Carter.


My Review

This is the second in a series, I was given an ARC copy from the publisher so this is my first encounter with this author. I think, personally I would recommend you go and get the first book in the series instead of starting with this one as I believe it will make the story more enjoyable. The story opens with the prologue, we meet the mastermind bad guy, Ricky Budgeon and a very brief look into his views on what has happened prior and brings him to the actions that follow. A bit vague? I thought so too and the theme follows throughout the story but it does all come together and information is released in snippets.

We move on to Savage, who turns out to be DI Charlotte Savage, at home with her family when she gets a reminder from a colleague about the PSD (Public Standards Department) inquiry meeting regarding her actions in a previous case. I believe this is also something that happened in the last book although I am not 100% sure. We then go to another scene where a body is discovered and DI Savage is called in, our story really starts here. Soon a child’s body is discovered, linked to an old residence of a paedophile and soon a paedophile is found murdered.
Shortly after that a member of DI Savages team goes missing, bodies are turning up murdered in vicious and horrific crime scenes and Savage and her team are running out of time to solve the mystery and save their colleague.


Exhausted reading all that? It is quite a lot to take in and to be honest, had I read the first book and had a feel for some of the characters it would probably have been a lot easier to get into. As it was I felt there was a lot of characters to try and get to know, a few different stories lines going on and I had to re read bits to try and establish what was going on.
There is a lot happening and plenty to keep you interested and intrigued as to what is going to happen and who is linked to whom but I would suggest reading it in big chunks or in one go if you can. Reading this over a few days can be a bit hard going as it is such a busy story.
It is quite violent and gorey, there is a lot of swearing and quite a few terms that are racist so be warned it may offend quite a few readers. DI Savage I found to be hard to like, she has been through a lot which may attribute to her attitude and almost total disregard for her professional standards and behaviour. She seemed like a loose cannon at times rather than a level headed leader of a police team and lead investigator in a high profile case. As I said I think maybe going back and reading the first book would give a bit of clarity and help with the enjoyment and understanding of this book.


All your ends are eventually tied up, most things are linked and explained although at the end of this book a character throws a curve ball that will pull followers from the first story to get the third book. I have only read book two however I want clarification and closure on this particular issue from the stories, a rather clever ploy from the author, always leave them wanting more. A rather mixed bag for me, it annoyed me on so many levels but got me there in the end and had enough intrigue to keep me going to the end so 3/5 for me this time. Thanks to Avon Books for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review and for introducing me to this author whom I will read again. This book is available to buy from all good retailers from the 26th of September 2013, in paperback format and for the kindle.

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